Nong Mae Na

Location:Nong Mae Na community is located inside the beautiful Thung Salaeng Luang National Park, in Petchabun province. Visitors to Nong Mae Na will reach the community via a beautiful highway which passes a landscape of rolling hills and fertile fields where the vilagers plant maize, chilies and vegetables, as well as raising animals.

The highlights of Nong Mae Na Community “Enjoy a boat journey, wildlife watching, camping, and cultural exchange in friendly Nong Mae Na. Explore the site where members of the Communist Party of Thailand once lived, including rice fields, aBaandoned barracks, and look-out posts, catch sight of one of the world’s rarest jellyfish.”

Why is Nong Mae Na community special?

Nong Mae Na offers an intriguing mixture of history, culture and wildlife. Between 1968 and 1982, the area was an important base for the Thai Communist Party, who established a camp in the forest, and battled against the Royal Thai army for control of this strategic area connecting three provinces of Phitsanulok, Petchabun and Loei. It is easy to imagine these historic scenes. The landscape of cliffs, hills and forest cover is rugged, with many good vantage points to spy an attack. A short walk into the forest leads to the abandoned camp, including a well preserved selection of huts and a forest parade ground. The communist rice fields are a further vivid reminder of the struggle. Beautiful nature and fine weather also makes Nong Mae Na a perfect spot for eco-tourists. The Community Tourism Management and Conservation Area of Nong Mae Na has become well known for balancing tourism and conservation. Local guides organise road or river excursions into the national park, or explorations inside the community. Between March and April, nature enthusiasts make the journey to see one of the world’s rarest species of jellyfish, found in only 2 places in Asia. These tiny, delicate animals are an indicator of the purity of the water in this area, and pay testament to the success of local conservation efforts.

Don’t miss this…Activities for guests:

Baan Nong Mae Na has a great choice of programs to suit different interests of guests. The activities below can be included into a program of 1,2 or more days:

History of Communist Struggle: Visit the historical site of Khao Kho – the location of battles from 1968-1982 between the Royal Thai Army.

Thung Salaeng National Park: starting from the National Park office guests visit the Wildlife Breeding Center, the beautiful Dok Kra Jeaw flower fields, mountain pine forest and fern. On the way , it’s possible to study plants and herbs, visit the Khek watershed waterfall and enjoy bird-watching. Finally, guests travel by boat along the Khek River for around 7 kms to enjoy pristine nature. It’s possible to camp in the forest by the river, and observe life in the forest.

River trip and local crafts: Guests float along the Khek River by boat (about 2 hours) starting from Kaeng Baang Rachan (first islet). You can feed fish at the Buddhist temple. Continue to a second islet, visit a butterfly watching site and see extremely rare Freshwater Jellyfish (during the season in March and April).

Green Corner: People and Planet

The community committee determines rules and regulations for tourism development, including conservation. Profits from the program go to a community fund. The community is also very proud of its reputation as 100% drug free. Community leaders work with local youth and create sporting and social activities to keep youth away from drugs. The community are very active in a local conservation network which works to protect the Khek river, the shared water source for local agriculture. They also work in partnership with a neighboring village to organise homestay services.